Walmart makes example of seafood supplier

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Allegations of worker abuse prompted Walmart to suspend a small seafood supplier earlier this week pending the outcome of an investigation, according to a Reuters report.

The news agency said Walmart launched an investigation following a report by the labor rights group Worker Rights Consortium that indicated CJ’s Seafood of Breaux Bridge, La., violated several federal labor laws including 24 hour shifts and worker intimidation. The matter represents another layer of the compliance challenge confronting Walmart as it seeks to do business with a larger numbers of smaller suppliers in the United States and abroad in such markets as China, Africa and India. Monitoring working conditions and business practices of a global supplier base is a monumental undertaking, but Walmart aids its cause when incidents of alleged wrongdoing are dealt with in a zero tolerance fashion that involves high profile enforcement actions to discourage other inclined to cut corners.

For more on what Reuters had to say about the seafood supplier and Walmart’s actions, click here.